Hanukkah 2026
Eight nights, one candle at a time, one more each evening.
Countdown to Hanukkah 2026
Dates
When is Hanukkah?
Hanukkah 2026 falls from Saturday, 5 December 2026 to Saturday, 12 December 2026. In 2027 it falls from Saturday, 25 December 2027 to Saturday, 1 January 2028.
The first candle is lit on the evening of 4 December; the eight days run 5 to 12 December.
Date checked against hebcal.com
| Year | Dates | Length | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5 – 12 December 2026Sat – Sat | 8 days | Confirmed |
| 2027 | 25 December 2027 – 1 January 2028Sat – Sat | 8 days | Confirmed |
See every festival by date in the 2026 festival calendar and 2027 festival calendar.
The story
What it is, and why it matters
- Type
- Festival of Lights
- Tradition
- Jewish
- Where
- Jerusalem, Jerusalem District
- Crowd
- Millions worldwide
- UNESCO
- Not inscribed
The menorah goes in the window, facing out. The festival's whole visual logic is about being seen from the street.
Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the second century BCE, and the miracle of a single cruse of oil lasting eight days. It is a minor festival in halakhic terms and a major one in the domestic calendar.
In Jerusalem the Western Wall plaza hosts a public menorah lighting each evening. Elsewhere — Brooklyn, Paris, Sydney — the giant outdoor menorah is largely a twentieth-century Chabad innovation that has become the festival's most photographed form.
Culture
Traditions, food and music of Hanukkah
Traditions
What actually happens
- Lighting the hanukkiah — one candle on night one, plus the shamash, adding one each night.
- Dreidel — a four-sided top, and a game whose Hebrew letters spell out the miracle.
- Gelt — coins, originally real, now almost always chocolate.
- Public lightings — communal menorahs in squares and outside government buildings.
Food
The table, widened
- Latkes and sufganiyot: potato pancakes and jam doughnuts, both fried in oil by design.
- Brisket, kugel and rugelach across the eight nights.
Music
Sound of the crowd
Ma'oz Tzur after the lighting, then a repertoire that runs from liturgical to 'Oh Chanukah'. Israeli radio plays a dedicated Hanukkah playlist for the whole eight days.
Religion
Why this date
The festival marks the Maccabean revolt against Seleucid rule and the Hasmonean rededication of the Temple. It is not the Jewish new year, and it is not biblically ordained — which is precisely why its observance varies so widely.
History
How it survived
The events are recorded in the Books of Maccabees, in Josephus, and in the Talmud's tractate Shabbat. The custom of placing lights in the window is medieval; the tradition of giving gifts is nineteenth-century and largely a response to Christmas.
History
How it got here
The events are recorded in the Books of Maccabees, in Josephus, and in the Talmud's tractate Shabbat. The custom of placing lights in the window is medieval; the tradition of giving gifts is nineteenth-century and largely a response to Christmas.
c. 165 BCE
Rededication
The Maccabees reclaim and rededicate the Second Temple in Jerusalem.
c. 200 CE
Talmudic account
The story of the oil lasting eight days enters the rabbinic literature.
1974
Public menorah
Chabad's large outdoor lighting model becomes the festival's public face.
Today
Winter light
Hanukkah now coincides with the northern winter light-festival season worldwide.
Travel & practical
Visiting Jerusalem for Hanukkah
Getting there
TLV, then a 50-minute drive or train to Jerusalem. Bethlehem and Ramallah are nearby.
Where to go
The Western Wall plaza at dusk; the Nachlaot neighbourhood's alleyway menorahs; Mahane Yehuda market.
Practical notes
Schools close for the week and doughnut queues form at 4pm. Bring ID everywhere.
Plan the trip with free AltFTool tools
FAQ
Hanukkah: common questions
Straight answers to what people ask most about Hanukkah.
Why eight nights?
The miracle of the oil: enough for one night, lasting eight.
Is it the Jewish new year?
No. That is Rosh Hashanah, in autumn. Hanukkah falls in the winter.
Which candle first?
The candle on the far right is lit first, then you work leftwards as the nights progress.
Also in December 2026
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